Causes of Exploration: God, Glory, and Gold
Examine how God, glory, and gold—combined with blocked trade routes and religious mission—drove European nations to fund dangerous sea voyages in the Age of Exploration in Grade 7 history.
Key Concepts
European nations wanted to buy valuable Asian goods like spices and silks. However, the land routes were controlled by others, making these items very expensive. Rulers in countries like Portugal and Spain began funding risky sea voyages to find a direct water route to Asia, hoping to gain incredible wealth and national glory.
Beyond the search for riches, European leaders had a powerful religious mission. They wanted to spread Christianity to people in new lands. This powerful combination of economic goals and religious duty drove explorers to sail into unknown waters, beginning the Age of Exploration.
Common Questions
What economic motivations drove European exploration?
European nations desperately wanted access to profitable Asian goods like spices, silks, and precious stones, but land routes were controlled by Ottoman and Muslim middlemen who charged high prices. Rulers in Portugal and Spain funded risky sea voyages hoping to find direct water routes to Asia that would allow them to bypass these intermediaries. The potential profits from cutting out the middlemen were enormous.
What role did religion play in motivating European exploration?
European rulers and explorers were also motivated by a powerful religious mission to spread Christianity to peoples in newly reached lands. The Church encouraged and sometimes funded exploration as a means of bringing more souls into the faith. This combination of religious duty and economic ambition—'God, glory, and gold'—provided a compelling ideological framework for risky exploratory voyages.
What was the age of exploration and when did it begin?
The Age of Exploration was a period beginning in the 15th century when European nations launched systematic sea voyages to map and reach distant regions of the world. Portugal began the movement under Prince Henry the Navigator, followed by Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands. These voyages permanently transformed global history by connecting previously isolated civilizations.